Welcome to Rothsville. This village was named for the Roth family. The earliest settlement can be traced to Phillip Roth who built a tavern there in 1790. Philip Roth's legacy is now on this historic marker.
These road signs are always blue, and in the shape of a keystone, the symbol for Pennsylvania. They are sponsored by the Keystone Marker Trust. SOURCE This sign of history is located @ 1411 E Newport Rd, where the neighborhood road Homestead Drive dumps out into the main drag of Route 772. This site is all farmland with housing tracts. The sign tells us this town has undergone several name changes. This marker is in Lancaster County. The sign is of aluminum and it seems it may be a reproduction of the original which was problem stolen. The pole is an original front mount. The website lists this as a poor quality sign on an original post; I could not tell the difference. This is one of two markers. The other is approaching Brownstown as it says on the historic marker.
According to Wikipedia, Rothsville is a census-designated place (CDP), associated with the town of Lititz, PA, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. Lititz, PA, is the town for residents' mailing addresses. The cdp is located entirely within Warwick Township. The population was 3,044 at the 2010 census. SOURCE
The marker reads:
Lititz 4
ROTHSVILLE
Named for Philip Roth
Early Settler and Tavern Keeper
Formerly Rabbit Hill
Founded
1790
About Philip Roth
This is the opening paragraph from the "Rothsville Bicentennial 1790-1990" history authored for the Bicentennial Committee by local Armin Sohns. "Warwick Township is one of the original townships laid out in 1729 at the formation of Lancaster County. The earliest settlers in the vacinity of what is now Rothsville were John Mussleman (Musselman) in 1734, Paul Tettenhauer in 1739, Peter Fahrney in 1742, Andrew Musselman in 1747, an Peter Lane in 1756. In 1790, Philip Roth acquired 90 acres of land and built a tavern at the junction of the Newport and Lititz roads." It is this Philip Roth for whom Rothsville is named. The tavern is still standing and bears the name of "The White Swan".
As settlers began to take up residence in the area, the settlement took on the name "Haussa Barrick". This is the local idom for the German "Hasenberg". The tranlation is Rabbit Hill probably in response to the large number of wild rabbits in the area or those raised by the German farmers. A road named Rabbit Hill Road runs from Newport Road east of town to Church Road. The name of the town was changed to Rothsville sometime after 1847 when a post office was established. SOURCE
About the Marker Program
The last of these were erected about 70 years ago so they have been around for a long time. The Keystone Marker, with its ornate pole and brilliant blue and gold keystone, once graced the entrance to the vast majority of Pennsylvania's towns, villages, creeks, rivers, and trails. In the few places where they survive, they define and reflect a character that is purely local, but perfectly Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is famous for its unique town names. The Keystone Markers are a uniquely Pennsylvania and decidedly distinctive way to highlight these names as well as to provide just a little snippet of history to spark interest.
When a visitor arrives in a place graced by these markers, they know they are someplace special. Essential elements in that all-important first impression for visitors and reminders of our own place in life.